Individual calling apparatus.



No. 660,439. Patehted 0d. 23, I900.

w. F. HOMMAN, Decd.

(Application filed Sept. 11, 1899.)

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GRACE B. HOMMAN,OF COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, ADMINISTRATRIX OF WILLIAM F. HOMMAN, DECEASED.

INDIVIDUAL CALLING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 660,439, dated October 23, 1900. Application filed September 11,1899. serial No. 730,114. on model.)

T0 at whom it may concern:

Be it known that WILLIAM F. HOMMAN, late a citizen of the United States, residing at Colorado Springs, inthe State of Colorado, but now deceased, invented during his lifetime certain new and useful Improvements in Individual Calling Apparatus, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of the same. The said invention relates to devices known as individual calls, by means of which the call used for any station or operator on a telegraph-line may be used to ring a bell or to operate some other audible or visual signal without bringing into operation similar signals at other stations on the same line; and it is the object of the invention to simplify the apparatus used for this purpose and render it more effective and less liable to get out of order.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side elevation,

partly in section, on the line m a: of Fig. 2,.of

a form of apparatus embodying the said in vention. Fig. 2 is a plan, partly in section, through the line y y of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an elevation, partly in section, on the line 2 z of Fig. 2, of a part of the apparatus looking from the other side as compared with Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 is a detailed view of the wheel W, showin g the spring for returning it to zero and the pins carried by it.

' The same letters of reference refer to the same parts in the drawings.

M is an electromagnet included in the line or in a local circuit in the usual way and provided with the usual armature A and adjustable retractile spring S. The armature-lever carries at its outer end an actuating-pawl P, pivoted to the lever and pressed toward the right by a light spring .9. The pawl P engages with the teeth of a wheel W, which is mounted on a shaft B, pivoted in standards C, mounted on the bed-plate of the instrument. A spring 6, (see Fig. 4,) surrounding the shaft, tends to turn the wheel to the left.

D is a detent mounted at its lower end on a pivoted shaft d and pressed into engagement with the wheel by a spring.

T is a tripping-pawl pivoted to the armature-lever L and having a hook-shaped lug h engaging with a lug or offset 0 on the actuating-pawl P. It is mounted so that the force of gravity tends to swing it to the left, or it may be pressed in that direction by a light spring.

E-is a lever loosely pivoted on the shaft 6. The arm at the left of the pivot terminates in 1 a V-shaped projection J immediately under the lower end of the tripping-pawl T when the latter is swung to the right, and the arm at the rightcarries a weight F, which is preferably adjustable along the arm.

G is a lever rigidly attached to the pivoted shaft e.

H is a shortlever, also rigidly attached to the shaft e and extending under the end of a short lever Q, which is rigidly attached to the shaft 01. As the pawl D is also rigidly attached to the shaft d,raisin g the lever Q throws the pawl to the right, and it is obvious that when the outer or left hand end of the lever G is depressed the pawl D is thrown out of engagement with the wheel W. The lever G terminates in a V-shaped oifset I in line with the similar projection J on the lever E and immediately under the lower end of the tripping-pawl T when the latter is swung to the left. A spring-stop oserves to prevent too great Inovementof the tripping-pawl to the left.

A The upper part of the wheel is cut with teeth to correspond to any desired combination of long and short impulses representing the call of the particular station or operator. The long spaces are preferably a multiple-of the length of the short spaces or notches and the lower part of the wheel is cut with a series of short notches corresponding in length to the short notches of the upper part ofthe wheel. A pin 19, carried by the wheel, engages with the stud g on the frame and serves as a stop to limit the backward movement of the wheel. Another pin r on the other side of the wheel (best seen in Figs. 3 and 4) is brought against the spring m, mounted on the insulating-piece 7c, when the wheel is turned to the limit of its forward movement and presses the spring into contact with the contact-piece n.

The line or local circuit is connected to the binding-posts 1 and 2, and a local circuit, including an electric bell or any other desired lever E.

o armature-lever L.

5 The operation of the apparatus is as follows:

Assumingthe parts to be in their normal po sition and that a call of long and short impulses, corresponding in succession to the teeth cut on the wheel, is sent over the line by a telegraph key in the usual way, the wheel will be turned a distance corresponding to a long or a short tooth for each impulse by the action of the actuating-pawl P and will be held from backward movement between the impulses by the detent D until the pin rstrikes the spring m, when the alarm will be sounded. In each case when the impulse corresponds in length with the tooth in front of it the point of the pawl P drops into a notch between the o teeth, when the armature-lever ascends to its limit of upward movement and the actuatingpawl draws the tripping-pawl T over to the right, so that its point drops on the next downward stroke into the V-shaped end J of the 1f the impulse is a short one, the further downward movement of the pawls is arrested by the inertia of the weight F and the wheel is turned a distance corresponding to a short notch. If, however, the current ,0 impulse is a long one, the inertia of the weight is overcome and the wheel is turned by the further downward movement of the pawls a distance corresponding to a long notch. The lever E, with its weight, acts as an inertia- 5 stop and serves to arrest the downward movement of the actuating-pawl if the impulse is short or abrupt, but yields to any continued application of force, such as is supplied by a long impulse. It is obvious that any other 0 device performing the same function will serve the purpose. If now another call is sent over the line not corresponding to the long and short notches on the wheel, as soon as a short impulse coincides with a long tooth, or

5 vice versa, the point. of the pawl P does not on the return movement drop into a notch in the wheel, but rests on the point of a tooth. In this position of the actuating-pawl P the tripping-pawl T is not held to the right by the o ofiseto, as it is when the pawl P drops into a notch in the wheel, but is left free to swing to the left. As has already been stated, the tripping-pawl T is so arranged as to tend to swing to the left by the force of gravity, and it results from this that when the actuatingpawl rests on the point of a tooth or on a broad space between the notches the tripping-pawl drops into the V-shaped otfset I on the lever G on the next downward movement of the This results in the depression of the lever G and the consequent release of the detent D and the restoration of the wheel W to the zero-point by the spring 6, as has already been explained. The same result is secured at the end of the call by placinga broad tooth at the end ofthe series of teeth on the periphery of the wheel representing the call, so that the actuating-pawl will rest on such broad tooth at the completion of the call and the next impulse will depress the lever G and release the detent D in the manner just described.

As will be seen, the wheel can be turned to the position necessary for closing the alarmcircuit only by the precise succession of long and short impulses for which the wheel is cut and is not responsive to that extent to any other seriesof impulses. Even if any other series should happen to coincide partially at the start with that particular series the wheel would be released and return to its normal position at the first break in correspondence. If it did not correspond at the start, no movement of the wheel would take place.

The invention is particularly useful as a call for telegraphic circuits; but it is obvious that it may be used for other purposes-as, for example, in an electric combination-lock where the movement of the wheel or the local circuit closed by the wheel may be used to release or withdraw the boltwork in ways which are well known.

What isclaimed is 1. An electromagnet and reciprocating ar mature-lever in combination with a wheel having a series of long and short notches in its periphery and turned in one direction by a spring, an actuating-pawl carried by the armature-lever of the magnet and arranged to engage with the notches in the wheel and turn it in the-other direction when the armature-lever is reciprocated, a detent for restraining the wheel from backward movement, and a tripping-pawl pivoted to the armature-lever and arranged to trip the detent when unrestrained, but restrained from acting on the same by the actuating-pawl when cated, a detent for restraining the wheel from backward movement, an inertia-stop, a releasing-lever for the detent, and a trippingpawl carried by the armature-lever and arranged to be brought into engagement with the inertia-stop or the releasing-lever according as the point of the actuating-pawl drops into a notch in the wheel or rests upon the outer part of a tooth at the end of its previous upward movement, substantially as described.

3. In an individual calling apparatus, a wheel having a series of notchesin its periphery corresponding to the call, a spring for restoring the wheel to its normal position, an

ward, a detent for restraining the wheel from backward movement, a local circuit operating an alarm or signal and adapted to he closed by the wheel upon the completion of its forward movement corresponding to the call, and a tripping-pawl carried by the armature-leverand controlled by the actuatingpawl, an inertia-stop and a releasing device for the detent adapted to be operated by the tripping-pawl, substantially as described.

4. In an individual calling apparatus, the combination with a station instrument, including an electromagnet and its armaturelever, of a wheel W, a pawl P for actuating the wheel W carried by the armature-lever, a pivoted tripping-pawl T also carried by the armature-lever, interlocking lugs carried by the said pawls P and T, respectively, a detent D for the wheel, a releasing-lever G arranged to operate the tripping-pawl, and means for forth.

GRACE B. HOMMAN, Admz'nist'r'atm'ce of the estate of William F.

Homman, deceased. Witnesses:

L. B. MARTIN, E. A. SUNDERLIN. 

